AVLF's New Film Series Kicks Off with American Winter Film on September 15

Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is launching a film series centered around starting a dialogue about poverty in America and Atlanta. They are one of the largest providers of free legal services to low-income Atlantans, providing volunteer lawyers to families facing many of the issues depicted in the film - e.g., families facing eviction after losing a job or not getting paid what was due, families forced to live under deplorable conditions at the hands of a slumlord, families simply thrown out on the street at their landlord's whim, or families seeking protection from domestic violence. At the very core of their mission is bringing the larger community (not just volunteer lawyers, law firms, and corporate legal departments, but also funders, the courts, accounting firms, pro bono process servers and investigators, court reporters, experts – i.e., everyone that AVLF enlists) to their work of addressing the needs of low-income Atlanta families. A natural and important extension of that work is promoting a deeper understanding of the lives of those families and the challenges they face. To that end, AVLF decided to start a dialogue – with film as the touchstone – about poverty in America, poverty in Atlanta, and the barriers it creates for too many of our neighbors.

Everything you need to know and register can be found here: www.avlfatthemovies.org. It will be a Monday night – 6:30 pm on September 15th, to be exact – at the Landmark Midtown Theatre. They are bringing in the director/producer and will combine the screening with a panel and Q&A afterwards that will include the filmmaker and local providers of services or other experts in order to connect the film to the issues in Atlanta and the work that their volunteers do. The intention is to promote a dialogue that raises consciousness and friends, and they are only charging $10 so that they can expose as many folks to this powerful film.

Here is a link to watch a short preview:http://youtu.be/wJJR3lG72AA and here is more about the film:http://www.americanwinterfilm.com. The film does an amazing job at dispelling stereotypes about who makes up the ranks of the poor in our country and how they got there. Bringing it home to Atlanta and our work, it really gives the audience an appreciation for the challenges that low-income families everywhere face.

I hope you will consider registering – and telling your friends about it as well. If you have any questions, you can email Michael Lucas, AVLF’s Deputy Director, at mlucas@avlf.org.